Solo ride in the morning, after getting back from Israel on the previous day. I had slept through the night, felt pretty good as a result. It was foggy at the beginning of the ride. Headed over to Highland Valley Rd, where it was pretty cool as well. On the first climb, I felt okay but not super strong. Still, I powered up the climbs here as best as I could. By the citrus grove, the fog was gone, although the weather was still cool, a fine October day. I kept a decent, not great, pace on the flats after coming down from the high point. Out Dye Rd and over to San Vicente Rd, where I turned right, intending to add mileage. I kept on this road all the way to its end. It serves as the access road for San Diego Country Estates, and this was the first time I had seen this community. It looked pretty nice. Headed back, staying on San Vicente Rd and then following the same route through Ramona that the Tour de Poway takes, getting onto the 78 and heading downhill. I felt good on the initial slight downhill section and kept it together when it got steeper, only braking once or twice on the sharper left curves. It felt like the wind was working against me in this section. I got to the bottom and stayed on the 78 until turning onto Old Milky Way, taking it over to San Pasqual Rd and out of the valley. My legs were feeling just fine, a little surprising since I hadn't done really any riding (other than a 1 hr stationary bike workout) in almost 2 weeks. Headed home by taking the route behind the mall and then standard way home. Again, the last little climbs went well, not super fast but I didn't feel like I had to struggle up them. I would have preferred to have some more elevation in this route, to be ready for the greater challenge next week.
Avg speed = 17.0 mph. Total mileage = 51.6 mi
Avg heartrate =144 bpm
Total elevation gain = 2150'
